Wednesday Writing Tip

I’ve said it before – I write down all my crazy and weird dreams, and most if not all of my books have come from said dreams. But I’ve filled two small notebooks – so you can imagine how many dreams I’ve had that stay in those notebooks, tucked away and waiting for a chance. Recently, I read through my notebook and my email folder that contains the middle-of-the-night messages I sent myself via my cell phone after waking up from something worth remembering. There was a LOT to read. Most of it is gibberish or is already being applied to my current WIP’s and that got me thinking about the projects I’m working on. So I thumbed BACK through my notebook and emails and started playing around with combinations (this would go awesome with that, etc…) and now I believe I have some stronger WIP’s and future projects that are pretty well fleshed out (in my head, of course).

Why does this matter? I think every writer should jot down notes, ideas, dreams, etc…and hold on to them. Because you never know when one of those ideas or dreams might actually be able to sneak itself into your current WIP. And if you are ANYTHING like me, you’ll forget most of what you wrote down at 1am or 4am in that notebook that you surely keep beside the bed as soon as you put the pen down. At the least, regularly going back over these things can help you with a new plot twist, or even writer’s block.

Plus, sometimes it’s just hilarious to see what your mind is doing in the middle of the night. What goes on in there while you sleep is private, sure, but also great fodder for writers, even if you’re embarrassed to slip a dream scene into a book scene – it’s okay. It’s not like anyone is reading your ACTUAL notebook verbatim. Right? *clears throat* Right.

On that note. I will never share my notebook. NEVER. *clutches ratty notebook to chest* But I have no issue pulling snippets from my sleep-deprived ramblings for a current project. Decoded, translated and cleaned up like a shiny new coin, of course. 😉